Of all the facets in my crazy unfocused “squirrel” life, the subject that I get asked the most questions about is being vegan. I am often asked specifically WHAT products (foods) I eat, drink, supplement, train, race, etc with. Instead of constantly running down my list of “the usuals”, I decided to start a list of my faves and write a quick summary of benefits and why I love the product for you to read and decide if it’s a product that will work for you in your life.

The first product I am highlighting is one of my newest additions for my health/pseudo-training/can-take-while-pregnant drinks I have during my workouts.

I have been wanting to like coconut water since it first became “mainstream” about 6 years ago. I tried every brand, flavor, even the real thing fresh in Kona, but hadn’t found one I could stomach. I didn’t like the flavor or the consistency of it. Now I’m all for health benefits, but I won’t stick with anything long term (or short term) that I don’t like the taste of!

I had been drinking a product called “Can’t Beet This” (beet powder) for health and training and LOVED it, but when I found out I was pregnant, I had to stop because it has caffeine and too many herbs in it that my doc said to stop until after I have my baby. So I was on the lookout for something else.

The same company that made the beet powder, Purium, had just come out with a coconut water
powder. I ordered some and crossed my fingers. I already believed in the benefits of the ingredients, just needed to make sure I liked the taste. And I did! PHEW!!

Coconut water is amazing but most brands are not organic and are bad for the planet. Our coconut water is dehydrated on-site after harvesting to reduce our carbon footprint. Hydrate and reenergize with our blend of coconut water, mineral salts and rooibos. The concentration of balanced electrolytes can help promote hydration after a workout, elevation shift or just an afternoon thirst quencher.

It’s made by a company called Purium which is a company that goes back to the original purity standards. No artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, binders, fillers, hormones, pesticides, irradiated or genetically-modified ingredients. Just real food. Super food. For super results. Purium offers a solution that benefits our bodies, as well as the Earth.

I like and support the company because the majority of their products are plant-based and they promote a plant-based lifestyle.

I drink this every day at the gym when I am working out. I have also mixed it in my smoothies if I am feeling a little dehydrated or fatigued, which is a common occurrence in my third trimester of pregnancy!

Retail cost of Coco Hydrate is $29.95. I have a $50 gift card you can use for any orders over $75.

I was just going through my 2017 posts to put together my annual “top posts” post and I realized I never posted my race report from the biggest race of my life! WHAT??? I must have gotten distracted with the 900 changes that were going on in my life when I returned from Hawaii at the end of October.

I just wanted to send an extra shout out to my bf, Matt, who miraculously got me a hotel room near the race start the night before and after the race to make my life easier, my gf, Ashley, who turned her Hawaiian vaca into helping me have a successful pre-race week.

All the insanely generous peeps who contributed to my www.gofundme.com/kirtokona campaign, and everyone who took time out of their own busy lives to track me, text me, send me good vibes, and share their love and support with me through social media.

Anyhoo…here it is…

Without the never-ending love and support I get from those around me, I would have never had the amazing race and experience I did in Kona.

This is a time where you forgo your structured training for a period of time, get caught up on all the work, family, household, business, vacations, chores you half-assed during your season, and restore a little balance in your life.

Most triathletes can do this very well…for about a week! And then we want to go back to the scheduled, rigorous training we did all season. Which is NOT a good idea. Without taking time off, most athletes can get burned out, over train, or worse, injured.

In Colorado we can’t compete year round in triathlon without traveling to warmer, drier climates, so for most Coloradans, our off-season is the Winter months.

But don’t let Winter get you down! There are a ton of fun things we can do to give our minds and bodies a break while still challenging ourselves in our sport.

Cyclocross:

Cyclocross is sport that is a cross between mountain biking, obstacle course racing, and cross-country running. The bike courses combine riding on pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills with obstacles that require the rider to dismount, carry the bike, and remount often.

Cyclocross is very hard and will help with sprinting, bike handling, and maxing out your heart rate. They do make cyclocross specific bikes, but as a beginner, you could use a mountain bike. I am actually trying this out for the first time this year and have my first race THIS weekend! YIKES!

Swim Meets:

Masters Swim Meets are a fun way to challenge yourself while becoming a better swimmer. Since you already swim as a triathlete, you don’t need to get any new equipment. Learning all 4 strokes will help your technique and feel for the water. Swimming in a Masters meet is low key and anyone can join.

You’ll find all levels from past Olympians to those who need to rest for a breath at each turn. And as an adult you can swim as short as a 50 yard race! It’s harder than it sounds!

Road Running Races:

In Colorado, there is a 5K pretty much every weekend throughout the year. You can also find several 10Ks and half marathons each month, as well as at least one marathon each month.

This is a great time to work on speed since your legs won’t be as tired from your bike miles you put on while triathlon training. If you want to move up to the next distance in triathlon, incorporating longer runs is a great off-season goal.

Strength Training, Core Work, Yoga, Meditation:

All the important components that make up a well-rounded athlete that we tend to minimize or skip all together during our season because let’s face it, we all only have 24 hours in a day!

Get back to the basics. Make these activities a habit now so that when you start adding back in your swim, bike, and run next season, you can continue to practice them. You may not be able to spend the same amount of time on them as you do during your off-season, but you can find ways to incorporate them in smaller increments throughout your training week. I am actually doing a yoga streak this month!

Plan Next Season:

This is my favorite off-season activities. Set goals, choose your races and prioritize them. Register for as many as you can and for the ones that aren’t open yet or you don’t have money for, put them on a list in order of importance with the registration opening date and price and put the list where you can see it daily. Post your goals and tell a trusted friend or two to keep you motivated throughout the winter.

Hope your Winter is super duper fun and you come back next season refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to ROCK!!!

I hear people talk about how hard they work to get to a certain place in their life, whether it’s business, financial, relationships, fitness, health, spiritual, etc.

I always feel bad when I hear this because I really don’t feel like I work that hard to make my goals. Today as I was doing intervals on the treadmill, I was thinking about this because, for once, I actually was working pretty hard!!

Since I was working really hard on my intervals, it got me thinking how often do I work hard in my life? And I came up with an answer that kind of surprised me. I don’t think I work hard very often, but what I do is no matter what, I do SOMETHING! No matter how I am feeling that week or day or moment, I just do it!

I know that sounds cheesy like a Nike slogan or something but it’s the truth.

For example, today I had no interest (or motivation) to run at all, but I wanted to get in a short interval run before my massage because I’m racing this weekend and I want to be slightly recovered. PLUS (let’s be honest here) I am trying to stay under myfitnesspal calorie goal and it’s been tough lately…like impossible, so I made myself get on the treadmill. I ran at a super easy pace for a few minutes which got my heart rate up, got the blood flowing through my body and brain, and the endorphins kicked in and I started feeling good! So I actually finished my interval run and here I am!

So I don’t feel like I necessarily work hard for the things that I want, for the things I accomplish in my life, and for my successes, but I do feel like I always do what needs to be done.

Now that I think about it, this is actually in alignment with how I do everything in my life, baby steps. I talk about baby steps all the time, how I take small incremental teeny tiny little steps toward what I want in my life, but I do them over and over and over again and it ends up looking like a success, that I’ve accomplished a goal, that I’ve done something big!!

And what I did today with my intervals is no different.

Last weekend I had a race. On the way there I had told a friend that I didn’t feel like I was ready for this race, that I didn’t feel like I’ve been training enough and that I hadn’t put in the hard work. When all was said and done, I did extremely well on the race. Looking back, I didn’t work hard to train for the race, I just did something every single day toward my goal of doing well in the race.

I have a big race coming up next week and people keep asking me if I am ready for the race. When I think about it, I think no, I’m not ready, I haven’t done hard enough workouts, I haven’t done many long rides or long runs, so no, I don’t feel like I’m ready.

BUT! In reality, I’m ready! I’ve put in the hours. I’ve put in time for the past 19 seasons that I’ve been a triathlete and for the past two years that I’ve been working toward this goal of qualifying and racing at the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

So yes! YES I am ready, whether I feel like it or not, I know I am ready!!

So I guess what I’m saying is that you don’t necessarily have to work hard all the time. Working hard is exhausting, it’s time-consuming, it’s mentally draining, and it’s often frustrating. So don’t do it, don’t work hard ALL the time, just do something, do something every single day. Do something every single day that moves you toward your goal. Do something every single day that move you toward your ideal life.

I wanted to share this for those of you who are new to running or struggle with it. It gets easier and you will get faster!!! I started running in 1999 when I decided to try a triathlon. I hated it, it was hard, and I was slow. The worst part was that I was an aerobics instructor so I was actually in good shape, at a normal weight, and in my late 20s. Running should have been easy for me, or so I thought.

After my first tri (the run was 2 miles) I was hooked on triathlon, but still rarely ran because I didn’t enjoy it. In 2001 I decided to sign up for an ironman distance triathlon where I would have to run a marathon. I decided I better start running!!!

After 10 years of racing I still didn’t like running, but I was slowly (emphasis on slowly) getting faster. Some seasons I did a little speed work, some seasons I ran more miles per week, some seasons I did stepmill and hills, some seasons I ran mostly on the treadmill, but all seasons I kept running. Other than a 2 year break, I have been consistently running between 10-60 miles a week. My average I would say is 25 a week over the past 19 seasons of triathlon.

This year I have PRd my 5k, 10k, half marathon, and ironman marathon. And last night I just PRd the mile. Before last night my fastest mile was 6:04 in 2005. Last night, 12 years later at the same race, I ran. 5:52. I am 44 years old and am still getting faster. And I can finally say, after 19 years of running, that I finally like running.

The 4 things in my opinion that have helped me get faster this year are:

1. Last year I lost 10 pounds and this year I lost an additional 5.

2. 3 years ago I became 100% plant based so my body recovers more quickly so I can train longer and harder more consistently. This year I am eating more raw foods which are nutrient dense and low on inflammation.

3. I race as much as possible to learn how hard I can push my body before I crack.

4. I now have confidence as a runner so I can start a race a little harder and with a faster group pushing me to go faster to keep up.

So if you’re struggling, if it’s hard, if you hate it but want to like it, stick with it. Once it’s easier for you, you will enjoy it more. Once you enjoy it more, you will do it more often, and in return get faster!!!

One last thing…

You need a good reason to want to run or you won’t lace up or get out of bed at the crack of dawn or head outside after a long work day. Why do you run? Why do you want to be a runner? Figure it out and make sure it’s a compelling reason, like at least an 8 on a scale from 1-10.

I want to be able to compete at a high level in my age group in triathlon. On a scale from 1-10 that’s a 10 on importance to me. So I get up and get running so that I can accomplish that!!

A little over a month ago I qualified for the Ironman World Championships which take place in Kona, Hawaii on October 14th.

Although I had been training hard and had a 2 year goal to qualify, I went through several life changes in the 4 months leading up to the race, which resulted in me having to use all the money I had been saving toward my trip the past 2 years in hopes and preparation of qualifying, on other life expenses.

All went well on race day and I qualified!! I was ecstatic and grateful that all my hard work had paid off. The race was Sunday and if you want to secure your spot in Kona, you have to pay for the race Monday morning.

The entry fee alone was $999. I had $1,000 left in my savings. PERFECT! Entry was paid for and I had 4 months to figure out how I was going to pay for my trip.

My amazing friend, Tara, had the idea of a “go fund me” campaign which I reluctantly said I would consider with no intention of actually considering “begging” my friends and family for money to help me reach my goals. That seemed very self-indulgent to me.

But reality set in and honestly I didn’t know how I was going to save up an additional $5,000 over the next 4 months when I didn’t even know where I was going to be living 2 weeks after the qualifying race in Boulder.

So I gave in and thought “what the heck, I’ll see what happens”.

Tara wrote a heartfelt summary of my time leading up to the race from her perspective, and I posted it to my social media. What came next brought me to tears.

Within a day I had received about $1,500 of my $5,000 goal. People wrote me notes like “you have helped me so much, I’m happy to return the favor” and “go for your dreams”. And many of these were people I didn’t even know! This blew my mind. I couldn’t figure out why all these people would help me!

So I thought back to all the times I have helped people I did or didn’t know without any expectation of getting anything in return. It reminded me how amazing people are and how we all just want to feel connected to those around us. That our community is strong. That at the core of our being, we want to see each other thrive. That helping those who need our help is fulfilling. And that karma is beautiful and the more we live to serve others, the more others live to serve us.

And it’s such an upward spiral of positivity. The more donations I got from my peeps, the more I wanted to give. And the more I give, the more others want to give. Pretty soon we are all giving and receiving and loving and connecting and all is well in our world.

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated to my dream! What you have done has not been taken lightly at all! I have a plan to make a banner before I leave to Kona on October 5th and put every single name of every person who has made my race possible, and take it with me to remind me I am loved. To remind me I am doing the race for all of you who believe in me. To remind me that what I do every single day in my life makes a difference. And to remind me that we are all just walking each other home.
I love you!

I have worked with so many incredible women over the years, I wanted to show them off and share their experiences since they are all so different than mine. I am hoping I can help and inspire and motivate more and more people by shining the spotlight on these amazing women.

This month’s shining star is Dawn Ashcraft. I met Dawn after the bulk of her weight loss/health journey. She came to me to up her game and run the Bolder Boulder 10K race in Boulder, CO in May. I am so proud to announce she made her goal and finished the race! And now she’s ready to do another one even faster! AWESOME!

Here is Dawn’s story…

In 2012 I lost my 24 year old son to an accidental prescription drug overdose. I spiraled into a deep depression I didn’t know if I would ever come out of. In the process I stopped taking care of myself and used food for emotional support and comfort. I didn’t exercise or even leave the house most days. At my heaviest I weighed about 310 pounds.

In 2015 I was tired of being sad and tired all the time and I was sick of hating who I saw in the mirror. I knew I had to change. I realized my son would have been disappointed in me if I kept on the way I was and he wouldn’t want me to be in this dark place forever.

I met a guy who was a boxer and I started boxing with him. I started boxing 90 minutes a day, 4 days a week and lost 15 pounds in the first month. That kept me motivated to keep going. Not only did I start losing weight, I had more energy, my complexion was clearing up, and I actually wanted to eat better. All the hard work was paying off and I could tell immediately this was a path I wanted to continue.

In changing my eating habits, the first thing I cut out was fast food. Next was soda and cutting down on my alcohol consumption.

Once I was down to pounds in May of 2016, I decided to run my first 5K. It took me 43 minutes. I wanted to challenge myself to get faster and better so I did another in 38 minutes and then another in 35 minutes. I love running because it’s something I can do alone. It’s just me out there with my thoughts. I can reflect on my life and my transformation. Plus my son loved to run and I know he would love that I am a runner now!

When I got down to 190 pounds, I started getting really excited. I could see my muscles and I felt confident in my new clothes I had to buy to fit my new body. I continued boxing at home 3-4 days a week and run 3-4 days a week. My ultimate goal is to get down to 155 pounds.

My advice for the person who feels helpless and hopeless in her weight loss journey: Sit somewhere quiet and talk to yourself. Tell yourself that you love yourself every single day and promise yourself no matter what, you will always want to take care of yourself, because you love yourself.

Unconditionally!

If you have a bad day, let it go. Start over tomorrow, it’s one day out of your whole life!

So two days after I raced Ironman Boulder, I sat down to do my race report. In my head I was just going to give some details about my race, with extra on race day nutrition (because that’s what I was getting the most questions about from my clients, friends, and fellow tri-geeks).

As I started my video, I realized there was so much more to this race than just a swim, bike, and run for me. This was a really important race for my self-worth and confidence and confirmation that I am on the right path in my life.

After 4 months of transition, traveling, life changes, doubts, fears, and constant inner struggles, it all came together on this one long day.

After I finished my report I noticed it was 32 minutes! HOLY CRACKERS! That’s a fricken long ass race report! I was convinced no one would waste 32 minutes of their life to find out what happened in the 10 hours and 55 minutes I spent racing my heart out on June 11, 2017.

I was wrong.

I have received so much love and support about my long race report where I chose to be brave and vulnerable and transparent. When I started to tear up the first time, I was so tempted to turn off the camera and start over, but decided to just feel whatever I was feeling. By the third time, I just let the tears roll down my cheeks.

I am so grateful to have attracted such amazing people into my life! Yes YOU!!! You get me excited for my next adventure in hopes that it will help you get excited about yours!!

Last weekend I ran my 83rd half marathon. I ran my first one in 2001 when I decided to train for my first ironman.

At that time I was 29 years old and the longest I had ever run was a 10K…once! And BTW…at that time (and for the following 10 years) I pretty much hated running. I did it because I liked triathlon and if I wanted to be competitive in my age group, I had to run. So I did.

People always tell me they want to be a runner but they hate running. They ask my advice on how they can like running more. Here is what I say…

1. If you truly hate running, find another form of exercise that you love or you will never do it anyway! Or you may do it short term but never stick with it long enough to enjoy it or get the benefits running offers.

2. If you hate it but have a strong “why” you want to do it (my case) then keep running.

3. The more you run, the easier it is.

4. The longer you run, the easier the shorter runs are.

5. The faster you run, the less time you spend running a certain distance, and therefore feels easier.

6. The less you weigh, the easier running is.

7. The more nutritious your meals are (lots of fruits and veggies), the more energy you have, and the more energy you have, the easier it is to run.

In summary: Run more, run longer, run faster, eat better, maintain an ideal weight for you, and running will be fun and easy! Once it is fun and easy, you will like it more, maybe even love it!

No short cuts, no secrets, just do it…like most things in life you are successful with!

So basically that is how I PRd my half marathon. That and it was a flat course at sea level.

Over the past 15 years of my running career, I have had ups and downs: injuries, digestive issues, and a love/hate relationship with running to name a few. I even took 2 FULL years off and didn’t run a single step about 9 years ago.

But in the past 3 years, I have consistently been getting faster and improving my running times following the guidelines I posted in this article. I want to place at the top of my age group in my triathlon races this year and qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI (my why).

I am doing a running streak at least a mile a day (I’m on day 57…running more)

I have now done 67 marathons including a series of 7 marathons in 7 days (running longer)

I am incorporating 30-60 second ALL OUT intervals on all my treadmill runs (running faster)

I have lost 5 pounds this year from last year so I weigh less, and I am 100% vegan now and eat more raw fruits and veggies throughout the day so I have more energy and recover more quickly so I can run longer, faster, and more often

As an athlete who is getting faster as I get older and getting better every year, I get a lot of questions about what I am doing differently as I age up.

Here are the 4 things I have added to my ironman training this year.

My first race is April 1st, so I will let you know how it worked out, but from how I am feeling so far and the small tests I have given myself over the past 3 months, I know all 4 of these are benefitting my training, racing, health, fitness, and life as a whole.

YOGA

I have literally been “trying” to add a regular yoga practice into my life and into my training for the past 10 years, with no success. It’s always the first thing to go when I get busy. It’s slow, I get bored, or I just forget to do it even when it’s scheduled in!

Plus, there are workouts from 10-30 minutes to choose from so even when I only have 10 minutes, I can still do something! I toyed with it on and off last year to start the habit so that this year I could turn it into a regular practice. Some weeks, of course, are better than others, but for the most part I have been doing yoga 3x/week typically for 15 minutes each. Sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter, but always at least 10 minutes.

MEDITATION

If you have read any of my other posts, you know I have also struggled with a regular meditation practice since I was a kid. I do believe it’s a good idea and will help me in ALL areas of my life, but as with yoga, when I am busy, it’s the first thing to go!

At the beginning of this year, I uploaded the HEADSPACE app which is guided meditations. I did like this and it started me in the right direction in forming a habit. However, once I started working in the mornings, my morning mediation habit left the building. I have been working on some other ways of meditation that are starting to stick a little better, ways that work better with my lifestyle and my crazy brain. As of now I am doing some sort of mediation pretty much daily. So I will keep doing what is working for me. I definitely recommend trying LOTS of different meditations to see what fits into your world and your head.

STEPMILL

Ahhh the stepmill! The thing that looks like you are walking up an escalator, and feels even harder! I decided to make this a regular part of my training when I decided to do the St. George 70.3 race again this year. The bike is super hilly and the run is super hilly. Since the race is early May, I won’t be on a lot of hills outside before then, so I thought this is the next best thing.

I started in January with 15 minutes once a week. 15 minutes on that thing is HARD! Each week I added 15 minutes until I got to 2 hours. Then I stayed there, let’s not get too crazy! So once a week I do 2 hours on the stepmill. By the end my calves, quads, and glutes are trashed, so I know it’s working. The St. George race is May 6th. I’ll let you know how it goes!

ROWING MACHINE

What? How come no one ever told me how awesome the rowing machine was? I thought it was just some old school piece of equipment leftover from the 80s infomercials! I don’t even remember WHY I decided to get on it one day. I think I wanted to strengthen my upper body for swimming without actually doing any strength training. #lazyathlete

So I got on for 5 minutes and LOVED it! Not only did I feel like it strengthened my shoulders and back, it helped my posture, stretched my chest, worked my forearms, strengthened my glutes, stretched my calves, and helped the flexibility of my knees. I decided I would add it in 3x/week. I started with 5 minutes, added a minute each week until I got to 15 minutes and decided to stop there for time reasons. So I have been doing it 15 minutes 3x/week every single week.

I am excited to see how these 4 new additions to my training help me in my racing season this year. I age up to the 45-49 age group in triathlon so anything I can use to keep my body recovering quickly, my joints and muscles pliable and flexible, and my mind excited to keep training and racing will help me physically and mentally.

I would love to hear your favorite workouts and what you are adding ad taking out of your training as you get older and wiser!